Wele to the 'Gay Gam,' an Olympics alternative, where activism is enuraged and everyone's an athlete | CNN

Contents:

• UNED STAT GAY OPEN RETURNS FOR 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATN
• FORMER WASHGTON UNIVERSY ST. LOUIS PLAYER WS US GAY OPEN
• THERE WILL BE NO OUT GAY MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AT THE U.S. OPEN, YET AGA
• WELE TO THE ‘GAY GAM,’ AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE OLYMPICS, WHERE ACTIVISM IS ENURAGED AND EVERYONE’S AN ATHLETE
• THERE ARE NO PUBLICLY OUT GAY PRO MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AND NOBODY REALLY KNOWS WHY
• THE 10 GAYEST STAT IN AMERI FOR 2020
• WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• JAGUARS STRENGTH COACH KEV MAXEN COM OUT AS GAY

UNED STAT GAY OPEN RETURNS FOR 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATN

The Uned Stat Gay Open celebrated s 40th year May 2022 as the longt nng LGBTQ+ tennis tournament the world. When I was growg up, one thg [tennis] allowed me to momentarily pe was beg gay bee of the guilt, lonels and otherns I felt for likg boys, which I thought was herently wrong.

The Uned Stat Gay Open is one of more than 70 tournaments the Gay and Lbian Tennis Alliance’s world tour. For the full story on this year’s Uned Stat Gay Open, click here.

The most tellg sign of the lack of out gay men profsnal tennis is that the only player wearg any rabow apparel this summer was a straight guy who had to apologize for g gay slurs durg the Olympics. Open starts s two-week n New York, I feel pelled to rehash this prsg statistic: There will once aga be no openly gay male players at one of the sport’s premier events. “To be hont, I’m somewhat surprised that there still hasn’t been an out active ATP Tour level player, ” said Nick Lee, a former llege tennis player at Vassar who is openly gay.

FORMER WASHGTON UNIVERSY ST. LOUIS PLAYER WS US GAY OPEN

The absence of out male pro tennis players is noteworthy a summer that saw the first gay NFL player and gay NHL prospect e out and a rerd number of out LGBTQ Olympians, cludg the most men ever. Brian Bradley, who is gay and played tennis for Catholic Universy Washgton, D. C., foced on the dividual nature of the sport when tellg Outsports why he thks gay pro tennis players stay closeted.

“There are no out gay players on the ATP tour bee most players don’t pick up a racket hop to be a role mol for an entire margalized muny, ” Bradley said. “It tak a special personaly to both thrive a profsnal sport AND live thentilly as a gay man.

For so long gayns has been attributed to weakns — this n alienate a player om g out. “What happens if you’re the the FIRST out gay player?

THERE WILL BE NO OUT GAY MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AT THE U.S. OPEN, YET AGA

“The g out procs is so nuanced, and I n image the trici that e wh beg gay and playg a profsnal sport. That closeted player may not have signed up to be the first gay player.

WELE TO THE ‘GAY GAM,’ AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE OLYMPICS, WHERE ACTIVISM IS ENURAGED AND EVERYONE’S AN ATHLETE

But the fear that an out player would be hound by the media has been molished by how quickly the Carl Nassib story fad after the Las Vegas Rairs fensive leman me out as gay June. I thk “gay male pro tennis player out” would be a story that quickly fas as an obssn a culture where “breakg news” gets old really fast.

However, queer people are still fired, nied hog or refed service for beg gay, lbian or transgenr some parts of the untry.

THERE ARE NO PUBLICLY OUT GAY PRO MALE TENNIS PLAYERS AND NOBODY REALLY KNOWS WHY

Although acceptance of LGBTQ+ rights and people has risen recent s – particularly dramatilly among younger Amerins – there was an crease reports of homophobia and transphobia durg the Tmp era parallelg a lamentable rise right-wg natnalism. Countertuively, while Indiana has a reputatn as a nservative ral state where you probably won’t want to sport a pk Mohawk and kiss your lbian partner on the lips public; South Bend, Indiana had a very popular out gay and married mayor, Pete Buttigieg, who ran for the Democratic nomatn for print of the U. Everyone affectnately refers to the gayborhood as “Boys Town”— even the gfft lookg male taxi driver.

THE 10 GAYEST STAT IN AMERI FOR 2020

It's more laidback than nearby Miami (which is more popular wh party-seekg younger gay men) and is one of the few ci gettg queerer as retire flock here for the nvivial spir, warm weather and lower st of livg pared to other big North Amerin ci.

His gay and lbian iends San Francis, though, had never experienced an event as thrillg or movg as the openg ceremony. And so Wadll created the Gay Gam – then lled the Gay Olympics, until the Internatnal Olympic Commtee sued over the name. “The formula for succs was visibily and inty, ” Wadll said an terview followg the first Gay Gam 1982.

WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS

Wadll died 1987, but the Gay Gam ntue to this day, growg to an ternatnal phenomenon sce their first eratn. They draw over 10, 000 athlet and sometim seven or eight tim as many spectators, said Shiv Pl, vice print of external relatns for the Feratn of Gay Gam.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

You don’t have to be a profsnal athlete – even a proficient one – to pete the Gay Gam. And unlike at the Olympics, activism is enuraged at the Gay Gam, as has been sce the begng when the HIV/AIDS crisis was ravagg LGBTQ muni.

Above all, though, the Gay Gam are an event for queer and trans people to gather safely, play sports they love and be themselv whout fear of tolerance. The first Gay Gam were held San Francis 1982, where transmissn of HIV had peaked among the cy’s btlg gay muny. The Gay Gam uld be an act of prott then, too, Wadll cid, an event durg which LGBTQ people uld play the same sports they watched durg the Olympics and achieve the same kd of glory he had at the 1968 Olympics.

HIV/AIDS awarens has been baked to the Gay Gam sce s ceptn: In addn to banng discrimatn based on genr, sexualy, race and other tras, the Gay Gam wouldn’t allow any participant to be turned away based on their HIV stat. The Gay Gam also succsfully lobbied the US ernment to briefly waive a prev ban on HIV-posive people enterg the untry so they uld pete the 1994 Gay Gam New York and the 1996 Olympics Atlanta, chang ma wh the help of the US Olympic Commtee. Anyone n participate the Gay Gam – really, jt about anyone.

JAGUARS STRENGTH COACH KEV MAXEN COM OUT AS GAY

Though Wadll emphasized that sports weren’t the central foc of the Gay Gam, the event has hosted athlet wh real prows.